Marc Chagall, scenes of Jewish life 

From his roots in his native Vitebsk, described with love and nostalgia in the series My Life, to the encounter with his beloved wife Bella Rosenfeld, whose books he later illustrated; from the representation of the horror of the pogroms to the recreation on canvas of biblical events.  
Marc Chagall’s work continues to fascinate the general public, representing an original tale of the Jewish world, its tradition, and its vitality. These fundamental themes of the artist’s life and creative work are the focus of a new exhibition that brings over 100 works by Chagall from the collection of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to the MUDEC in Milan.  
Open to the public from March 16, “Marc Chagall. A Tale of Two Worlds”, curated by Ronit Sorek of the Israel Museum, will be dedicated in particular to Chagall’s graphic works and his activity as a book illustrator. In presenting the project, Sorek remarked that scenes and experiences of early youth formed the basis of Chagall’s symbolic world, and this is perhaps the secret of the lasting success of his art.  
The exhibition project will place these works in the cultural context from which they sprang: the language, religious customs and social conventions of the Yiddish Jewish community, as well as the colors and shapes that the artist assimilated as a child and expressed at their best. It will also explore the relationship in Chagall’s works between art and literature and between language and content. 
In display, also the books by Bella Rosenfeld, Burning Lights and First Encounter and From My Notebooks, dedicated to her memories of life in a traditional Jewish community that were published after her premature death. Chagall’s original drawings for the books will be displayed in the exhibition. 
The exhibition is open until 31 July. More info here.  
 
(Interior of a Synagogue in Safed, 1931 Oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm Purchase was made possible by Renee and Lester Crown, Edith Haas, Hon. Averell Harriman, Loula Lasker,E dward D. Mitchel, David Rockefeller, Charles Ullman, Jannie Wertheim B91.0500 Coll. IMJ)